Transcript WH 1 Lesson 55 Instructional Resource 1

Japan
Cultural Development
Influence of Culture
 Japanese cultural
development was
influenced by
proximity to China.
Geography

Japan is located on an
archipelago, or chain of
islands, about 100 miles off
the Asian mainland.


Mountainous Japanese
archipelago (4 islands)
It was east of the Korean
peninsula.
Geography
• Sea of Japan or East
Sea separated Japan
and Asian mainland.
• It is in close proximity
to China and Korea.
Chinese Influence
Chinese culture
influenced Japan
tremendously:
1. Writing
Chinese Influence (cont.)

2. Architecture

The Great Wall is the only manmade object
visible from space.
Chinese Influence (cont.)
 3. Buddhism (Zen Buddhism)
During Japan’s feudal age, a Buddhist
sect from China won widespread
acceptance among samurai.
 Known in Japan as Zen, it emphasized
meditation and devotion to duty.
Great Buddha, Japan

The Great Buddha sits 44 feet high, and is 30
feet wide from knee to knee. It weighs 274,428
pounds and is approximately 720 years old.
Shinto Traditions
 It was an ethnic religion unique to Japan.
 Shinto emphasized importance of natural
features, forces of nature, and ancestors.
 Shinto and Buddhism coexisted as religious
traditions.
 State religion: worshipping the emperor.